Iran’s Khamenei Warns Against Future U.S. Attacks in Latest Speech

What Happened?

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei reissued warnings to the U.S. on Thursday, calling its latest strikes on the Al-Udeid Air Base this week in Qatar a 'slap to America’s face.'

In his first public comments since President Donald Trump's Iran-Israel ceasefire announcement, the Iranian leader warned against further attacks coming from the United States or Israeli lead forces.

'They could not achieve anything significant,' the 86-year-old stated, according to reports.

He also downplayed U.S. strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites last week.

 Khamenei claimed that President Trump had exaggerated the impact of the attack.

The Associated Press pointed out however that Khamenei's video message did not mention anything about Iran’s nuclear program or the status of those facilities.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Thursday that the attacks 'were wildly successful' and accused Iran's leader of trying to 'save face.'

'Any common sense, open-minded person knows the truth about the precision strikes on Saturday night,' she added.

Why it Matters

Khamenei's remarks come not long after Trump reiterated claims that the U.S. military totally obliterated Iran's three nuclear facilities last week in Tehran.

During the NATO summit in the Netherlands, Trump dismissed an early Pentagon report that had circulated suggesting otherwise.

The assessment, produced by the Defense Intelligence Agency, revealed that the strikes likely only set Iran back by months, according to CNN.

It suggested that the U.S. military strikes did not destroy core components as intended.

Trump told reporters on Wednesday that 'I believe it was total obliteration.'

He also dismissed reports that suggested Iran was able to relocate highly enriched uranium stocks beforehand.

'Bunker buster' bombs and missiles targeted the heavily fortified facilities that Trump called 'spectacularly successful' despite early indications.

Trump still has reportedly asserted that American and Iranian officials will talk next week in hopes of longer-term peace.

How it Affects You

Countries like China and Russia are closely watching this all unfold.

The bigger consequence for President Trump is if he's unable to maintain a strong position on the conflict at hand between Israel and Iran.

For the U.S., this could impact the negotiating peace ability with Russia amid its ongoing Ukrainian conflict and impact ongoing U.S. trade talks with China.

Above all else, the U.S. military's effectiveness has been questioned in the latest preliminary reports.

Iran has reportedly not acknowledged any such peace talks with the U.S.

These recent reports however are certainly something that could influence Iran's leader to press on.